Dear Newbies

Welcome to the type 1 parents club. (Including but not exclusively, Usher and family) I am so sorry you have joined but glad at least you are here. The locals call here, the DOC  (we pronounce each letter for Diabetes Online Community.)

I kinda know how you may feel. I have been through it. Twice, yes two kids with type 1.  But you Diabetes May vary and you anxiety at diagnosis is your own.

If diabetes has taught me anything it is to try to have empathy for others, other parents of kids with diabetes, other people with type 1, type 2, what we call type 3 (other parents and caregivers.) In time, I hope you get to the place where you can see empathy as a blessing.

You ain't there now. You ain't meant to be. Don't sweat it. There are a bunch of stages of loss, you are gonna deal with them. That is 100% normal.

Type 1 diabetes is a family thing. No parent likes putting insulin into a child, the child typically isn't a huge fan of it either. All try to be brave. Siblings face as much stress as anyone, through less parental attention and care and loving fear for their brother or sister. As you work diligently to learn to care for you child with diabetes, work as just as hard to show the non D-kids how much you care for them and the love all they bring to the family. Life has many demands, diabetes will add to them, for now bring all you can to your family - you will find a new normal.

Learn about Children With Diabetes Friends for Life.

There at Friends For Life, families share the magic of "getting it." Everyone "get its." No matter how much or how little anyone knows there are new things to learn and new friends to walk with you.

Your family needs people walking with them. Diabetes is hard. It is relentless. It is best managed with a little help from your friends. Nothing against your existing friends, they are wonderful people I am sure, few will appreciate that behind what you project as normal is the ever present reality of diabetes care. A few may prove they weren't true friends, such is life.

The diabetes community will embrace you, peer support makes diabetes care much less stressful. Join the forums at CDW, join #DSMA chat on Wednesday nights 9:00 easter on twitter. Let other walk with you. You can do this.

Over the years YDMV has created a collection of Newbie posts, most are silly. There are here if you need them. There are also a few focused on that "why me" stage, those are here.  What really matters is we, a community who gets it, are here and here and here and here.... well way to many places to list, but all are here for every newbie, parent, adult, child, teen, caregiver and friend living with diabetes.


Welcome to the club. Sorry you are here. 

Musings on NPH and the meaning of life.

I sometimes think those of us who frequent the diabetes online world can scare people with heart felt and school of hard knocks experience.

I think at times we leave new people with the idea that they are doing something wrong by following their Doc's instructions and using NPH. That is a mistake (making people feel that way), I am sure nobody has that intent but I think I see it happen, so here are some non negative thoughts on NPH.

NPH worked well for us for the first 3/4 of a year or so for each of our kids.

I have come to see that was successful because the NPH was supplementing partially functioning beta cells that could make up the difference but not carry the load of insulin production.

So, I see it as a judgment call to go with more injections in a basal insulin (Lantus) and bolus program vs. initially fewer injections with a program using NPH. Most of us are in a newbie state of shock about giving shots at all, and are not really in the best place to make an informed choice about more vs less shots and insulin curves at diagnosis. I can't fault a Doc for an initial NPH program, particularly with a needle phobic parent, like I was.

Part of the art of medicine is the whole patient thing. It is appropriate and correct for the care givers to consider the stress of giving shots and the patient reaction to that.

I think it is important that as we become experienced, possibly opinionated, professional diabetes parents (PDP someone get me a copy right on that!) that we keep in mind where we came from. I had a hard time with shots at all at first. I would have had more stress with a Lantus program with a basal insulin for every thing the kid ate. Maybe just Lantus would have worked. I can’t say.

What is important is getting on insulin and learning to manage it. That is a life saving change. Once you have done that selecting different management tools like insulin, pumps, pens etc is about convenience and incrementally better results. Life saving vs. incrementally better.

There isn’t one person on any diabetes web board who wouldn't use NPH tomorrow if the world supply of Lantus and or pumps disappeared.

As PDP we need to keep in mind that holistic thing and that some of us (ME) were needle phobic (kind of funny to think that way now.) NPH may not be the cutting edge but it is a lifetime better than the no insulin at all of a hand full of decades ago.

I, for one, am perfectly content that using NPH was a good first step for us. I am also comfortable that moving to a pump was something we were ready for but it may not be right for everyone all the time. I hope there will be advances that provide us with other and for us better approaches in time.